Corporate Bankruptcy : Tools, Strategies, and Alternatives

The number of corporate bankruptcy filings continues to rise through good economic times and bad–proof that more and more organizations recognize bankruptcy as a flexible, powerful tool for negotiating periods of fiscal duress. At the same time, corporations must be aware of the variety of alternatives to bankruptcy that may be more appropriate in their case, as well as understand the dynamics, choices, and options that are available throughout the bankruptcy process. Corporate Bankruptcy: Tools, Strategies, and Alternatives provides debtors, creditors, and financial professionals with an authoritative, step-by-step guide to every aspect of the Bankruptcy Code, creating a viable blueprint for ensuring a company's financial survival. Grant Newton walks readers through every step of the bankruptcy process, acknowledging the needs and objectives of the three principal parties in any bankruptcy case: the debtor, the creditor, and the bankruptcy estate's trustee. He begins by posing the two questions that any company facing possible bankruptcy should ask itself: (1) Should the business liquidate or reorganize? and (2) Should the liquidation or reorganization take place out of court or in bankruptcy court? The debtor's history, size, debt structure, nature of problems, and future outlook will be the primary determinants in choosing a course of action. Newton delivers seasoned guidance on all of these options, focusing on six critical steps for reorganization, whether it takes place out of court or under the auspices of chapter 11: Management change Situation analysis Design and selection of turnaround strategy Emergency action Business restructuring Return-to-normal Corporate Bankruptcy begins by covering the selection of alternative and pre-bankruptcy planning, the impact of a bankruptcy claim, and the nuts-and-bolts administration of the case. Newton then devotes chapters to claims, the recovery of property, the liquidation and discharge of claims, and business valuation. The book concludes by analyzing the intricacies of chapter 11 reorganization, as well as accounting and reporting issues and the retention and compensation of professionals. No company should proceed toward a possible bankruptcy claim without a thorough understanding of the implications of all the available options. Corporate Bankruptcy provides CEOs, CFOs, controllers, and treasurers, as well as financial advisors and other professionals involved with bankruptcy filing, the tools they need to succeed.